Preparing for the Worst: How to Prepare a Well-Crafted Disaster Recovery Plan

When situations hit the fan, emergency measures must be taken to protect the well-being of your employees, assets, and infrastructure. Chaos and uncertainty in times like these can result in increased damage and even loss of life. To avoid this, every company should have a disaster recovery plan to protect their employees and physical and digital assets in the best way possible. 

A disaster recovery plan (or DRP) is a complete plan of action that details the specific actions to be taken in the event of natural disasters, physical emergencies (such as fires or floods), or cyber-attacks on digital and intellectual properties. A DRP should be comprehensive in scope and efficient in its execution, and should be known by every employee within your company so that it can be carried out at a moment’s notice, should the need arise. What is more, a well-crafted disaster recovery plan should outline the steps that should be taken after the emergency, to resume operations in as smooth a manner as possible. 

Does your company have a disaster recovery plan? If so, does it cover all bases in the best manner possible? In this article, we will outline, in detail, everything you need to know about DRPs!

In the formulation of a disaster recovery plan, one of the primary areas of concern for companies, following the safety of their employees, should be how to maintain an acceptable threshold of business continuity. Business continuity refers to a company’s ability to maintain core and critical functions that will allow operations to run as close to normal as possible. When writing a disaster recovery plan, the concept of business continuity should be at the forefront of discussion as it helps determine how the bulk of resources and attention should be allocated in the event of an emergency. 

The value of a DRP lies in the scope of protection it provides for all assets and parties associated with a company. To offer further clarity, here are some of the key areas where a DRP can assist and its importance becomes even more apparent:

Mitigate financial loss

In the event of a disaster, one of the primary areas of concern for companies is how to cut financial loss. This loss can come as a result of damage to infrastructure as well as loss in revenue from days of inactivity. A well-crafted disaster recovery plan is important as it will have procedures in place to prioritize the protection of core and expensive equipment and resources, as well as systems to ensure that operations resume as normal in as short a time frame as possible.

Minimize reputation damage

In the event of downtime to customer service due to a company recovering from an accident or disaster, there can be significant blows to the reputation of your business. Customers may not be aware of the situation afflicting your company; this is especially the case for businesses operating internationally. Even in the event of an emergency, a disaster recovery plan should be prepared to both address the problem at hand and notify customers of the situation to assuage any concerns they may have about the long-term operation of your business. 

Peace of mind for stakeholders/owners 

All companies, and especially larger ones, have a board of directors and stakeholders who own stakes in the company. Naturally, these stakeholders hold a vested interest in the well-being and operation of the company. Having a robust disaster recovery plan is important to give these stakeholders peace of mind that even in the event of an emergency, the continued operation of the business and their investment are secured. 

Competitive advantage

Business is all about gaining competitive advantage over your competition. A disaster recovery plan can give you this competitive advantage over other businesses in the event of a natural disaster that can affect thousands of companies at a time. The ability to bounce back from emergencies like these will allow you to resume business and operations as usual before anyone else. 

Employee safety

The safety of your employees should always be a top priority. A DRP is an essential part of maintaining a level of security and safety for your employees in the event a disaster strikes your business. Whether it be emergency evacuation procedures in the case of a natural disaster or the steps that are to be taken in the event of operational downtime from a cyber attack, having a disaster recovery plan gives your employees the peace of mind of knowing that their personal and financial safeties are secured. 

Compliance and legal obligations

In many countries, disaster recovery plans may be documentation that every company is required to have. This legal obligation comes as a means to ensure that the physical and digital assets of a company are protected, and its violation can come at the cost of high fines.

There are several scenarios where a disaster recovery plan can be activated. Here is an outline of the most common cases where a company will need a disaster recovery plan. 

Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.

Natural disasters are one of the most common ways that a disaster recovery plan can be enacted by a company. Floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis cause primarily physical damage to a company’s infrastructure, company records, and other physical and digital assets. The fallout of natural disasters also almost always comes with operational downtime for your business. In the event of a natural disaster, a DRP is crucial in outlining the allocation of finances and other resources necessary to replace and renovate the damages to your business.

Human-made disasters such as wars, pollution, etc.

Human-made disasters are another form of emergency that can cause serious disruptions to the operation of a business. War, fighting, and heavy pollution can cause unseen breaks in work due to damages to company infrastructure or the threat to the safety of your workforce. In either case, having a disaster recovery plan is important as the impacts of operational downtime can include revenue loss, infrastructure damage, and threats to the safety of the company workforce.

Digital such as hacking, identity theft, etc.

In the modern day, disasters can extend past the physical and into the digital space. Cyber attacks on client and company data can translate into a serious disaster for a company. A DRP should always include provisions to protect the private data and digital intellectual property of a company.

In this section, we will cover the main components of a DRP. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and that a disaster recovery plan should be customized to the needs and situations of every company. 

Goals

In this section, your DRP should state the reason for its existence and outline the objectives that the company wishes to meet when using the plan.

Personnel

In the following section, the disaster recovery plan should name the responsible employees for each task should a disaster take place. This includes a disaster recovery coordinator, HR coordinator, financial coordinator, and communications coordinator, to name a few. 

Disaster recovery procedures

This is one of the most crucial sections of the disaster recovery plan. In this section, the company should outline the specific emergency steps that must be taken to recover from the disaster as quickly as possible. While the exact contents will vary depending on the company and the disasters that it is prone to, some common emergency procedures include those that protect the personnel, equipment, and infrastructure of the company. 

Restoration procedures

Once the disaster has passed, it is time to rebuild and recover. Your disaster recovery plan should outline this process and should include how resources will be allocated to return operations to their normal levels. 

Put together, a basic disaster recovery plan outline can look something like this:

The benefits and business importance of having a good DRP cannot be understated as it may mean the difference between the life and death of your company. In this section, we will cover some tips that can increase the robustness of your company’s DRP. 

Tip 1: Build the Disaster Recovery Team

Your DRP should clearly define the key roles and responsibilities of each member who is in charge of executing the plan. These individuals should be qualified and trustworthy and should be able to work in extremely challenging situations. If you are looking for such personnel, you can try posting job positions on CakeResume! Our job-seeking platform is used by thousands of qualified professionals seeking further career opportunities. 

Tip 2: Develop the DRP

A final disaster recovery plan should never be the first draft! Develop and come up with drafts of DRP and review them with key members of your team! Get eyes on the plan and iron out any discrepancies; the effort will be worth it, should the DRP ever need to be activated!

Tip 3: Test the DRP

Test the efficacy and efficiency of your disaster recovery plan through multiple dry runs and other tests. This will ensure that your planning is as effective as possible and will act as great practice for new and existing employees for them to be aware of the systems that your company’s DRP have in place for their safety. 

Tip 4: Update the DRP

As the size and scale of your company evolve, ensure that your DRP is always up-to-date with your current levels of operation and infrastructure. This ensures that any new assets, employees, data, and other resources are protected under your plan. 

Tip 5: Continuous improvement after implementation

Following the activation and termination of your DRP in the event of a disaster, perform a comprehensive analysis of its effectiveness against the disaster. Post-incident analysis and improvement are required for any improvements that were overlooked in the initial planning stage of the DRP.

A disaster recovery plan is a vital addition to the portfolio of any company. Disaster recovery plans should include provisions to protect against all forms of disasters, including natural, human, and digital. DRPs are an essential part of ensuring that operations can return to normal following emergency disruptions and that your client base does not lose faith in the services that your company provides. 

Planning a robust DRP takes time and skill; forming the right team for the job is just as important as planning itself. If you would like to find the highest caliber of candidates for your company, consider posting your company’s job vacancies on CakeResume’s job-seeking platform. Our reliable system uses AI to match the most suitable candidates to your company’s job listing. Check us out today!

--- Originally written by Alexander Coye ---